Smart grid issues to consider 2010:

Your energy consumption peaks just as you arrive home from work and adjust heat/air, turn on lights, shower, cook food, and turn on TV.

If electric company investors make more money by defining peak-price to their favor, as will surely happen, when will off-peak prices be available, and how will you know without wrangling at a website set up by those investors? Individuals could end up bidding in a less-than-transparent seller's market, with insiders getting best price while less-connected get higher price and reduced service.

Taxpayer incentives
There are plus rate increases in Europe and the US needed to pay for new smart meters. The meters are imported from China. They replace local workers.
The new meters add value to electric companies by laying off local workers, creating foreign jobs, and introducing dynamic pricing [higher bills]. These actions make electric companies more valuable to investors. Where is the guaranteed benefit for taxpayers and rate payers who financed the added industry value?
 
In Britain, a Hong Kong investor outbids Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (and others) for ownership of electric-supply assets serving 8 million British households. Once your smart meter is installed, where is the switch that controls that meter?


Smart grid issues to consider:
1) Isolated public testing of smart-meters show lower prices, but if all consumers save money at the same time, then electric company revenue will fall. How will electric companies get investment dollars to upgrade the entire grid with revenues declining? Real-life math shows that taxpayers and stimulus dollars are paying for smart meters, so electric prices have to increase for overall smart-grid success.

2) Your energy consumption peaks just as you arrive home from work and adjust heat/air, turn on lights, shower, cook food, and turn on TV.

3) If electric company investors make more money by defining peak-price-times to their favor, as will surely happen, when will off-peak prices be available, and how will you know without wrangling at a website set up by those investors? Individuals could end up bidding for electricity in a less-than-transparent seller's market.

4) Taxpayer-funded stimulus plus electric rate surcharges in Europe and the US are paying for new smart meters. The meters are imported from China. They replace local workers. The new meters add value to electric companies by laying off local workers, and creating built-in acceptance of dynamic pricing [higher bills]. These actions make electric companies more valuable to investors. Where is the guaranteed benefit for taxpayers and rate payers that are financing the added industry value?
 
4) In Britain, Hong Kong investor Mr Li outbid Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (and others) for ownership of electric-supply assets serving 8 million British households (offer open until Oct24). Once your smart meter is installed, who owns the switch controlling that meter? 

Imagine peak-price billing that begins when you arrive home from work and plug in your electric car. Imagine searching for off-peak prices like shopping for airline tickets.
Imagine a utility company gathering your personal information, at your expense, and claiming it doesn't belong to you.
Imagine broadcasting your schedule and activities over the airwaves.
Imagine hackers finding glitches in the transfer of your data.
Imagine replacing local workers with a product made in China by corporations that pay no US tax.
Imagine the on-off switch to your power located in another country.
Imagine claiming a device saves money and creates new jobs, as if new jobs are free, and then charging you more money. Imagine costs for running and maintaining the high tech grid that far outstrip the cost of simple meter readers.
Imagine software updates on your meter without your permission or knowledge. Yes, the smart meter offers opportunity!

What is it?
A smart meter is an ordinary electric meter with a wireless radio inside.
It reads whole-house electricity and broadcasts that information over a radio.
As of now, it does NOT turn off appliances.
It cannot shop for lowest price electricity.
Appliance-makers are aiming at smart meter interface, but will the Zigbee(R) Smart Energy products cost consumers more than they save?
Google has a new interface product called the Google Power Meter.
Radio-activated controls on air conditioners have been tried, but outdoor radios failed after a couple years. 
The smart meter is a cleverly named product, and you better photograph your old meter-reading before they install the smart one.

How do you benefit?
With privatized electric service, you pay $430 for the meter and radio, plus electricity to run it.
The electric company moves local people off the payroll and raises your bill to pay for a meter not manufactured in your town.
The electric company uses the radio to read your meter and/or disconnect your service from offices located where labor is cheapest. The company watches your electric comings-and-goings and sells that information for a profit.
The switch controlling your home electricity will be in the hands of people unavailable for comment, possibly overseas depending on who won your contract in the latest Wall Street play.

While local jobs are shopped around the globe, electric customers use a 100 watt computer to watch the meter at static 15-minute intervals.
This is NOT a live feed since the radio broadcasts at 15-minute intervals.
The electric company dreams of new meter-enabled services that cost a monthly fee while promoters make glossy ads claiming hokey products save money.
My bet for most likely 'product' will be peak-price billing that peaks just as you arrive home from work.
What about "guaranteed-service-upgrade-packages" so customers can charge that electric car?
What about intentionally degrading electric service forcing consumers to buy "high-def" electricity "so appliances last longer."
Don't forget, the same folks that invented Satellite TV with no innovation and Energy Star appliances that use more electricity are still in charge.

What can you do?
It's your vote.
Stop waiting for the CEO to skewer your wallet.
You can go outside every 15 minutes and watch the meter free right now.
Cutting local workers and importing a smart meter is not smart for you.
The physics is simple: if the electric appliance gets warm or hot, turn it off and/or install a timer.

Gene Haynes